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Mining agreement to benefit Métis students

A new bursary will help Métis students from the Abitibi-Temiskaming-James Bay region attend college. Representatives from the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), Detour Gold, Collège Boréal, and Northern College met Feb.
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Detour Gold operates the Detour Lake gold mine northeast of Cochrane.

A new bursary will help Métis students from the Abitibi-Temiskaming-James Bay region attend college. 

Representatives from the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), Detour Gold, Collège Boréal, and Northern College met Feb. 19 to sign memorandum of understanding agreements to formalize the creation of a bursary program to assist Métis students in their pursuit of higher education.

Funds have been made available to Métis students at both colleges for the past two years; however, Friday's signing solidifies this relationship and formally creates a Métis Nation of Ontario and Detour Gold Bursary at Collège Boréal and Northern College.

The bursary's creation is a direct result of the 2012 Impact and Benefit Agreement between the MNO and Detour Gold, and will be made available to Métis students pursuing careers in the mining industry.

Northern College president Fred Gibbons said in a news release that the bursaries would reduce financial barriers for Métis students looking to pursue their education in the mining sector.

“We salute Detour Gold for being the latest large mining employer that recognizes and supports — and in such a significant way — the close connection between education, our region's Indigenous peoples, and successful economic development," he said.

Rachel Pineault, Detour Gold’s vice-president of human resources and Aboriginal affairs, said Detour Gold and the Métis Nation of Ontario share a belief in the importance of education and creating opportunities for Aboriginal youth.

“Our scholarship and bursary program at College Boreal and Northern College will help students reach higher levels of education and prepare for careers both with Detour Gold and throughout Northern Ontario,” she said. “This investment is just one aspect of our broad educational commitment to our aboriginal partners."